Here are a few random pictures from our fun month of August at home. I know most of the pictures are of Jack but that is because Haken will hardly ever give me a smile (or really any picture of his face) and because Jack has been so stinkin' funny lately. Haken and I are constantly laughing at him throughout the day. I love that Haken also appreciates the funny little boy Jack is.
Jack is obsessed with this hat. He wears it all over the house.
Shad made this puppet theater for the boys one night using some scrap wood, clamps, and a blanket. The boys loved it.
Hanging out with daddy before bed.
Again the infamous hat. He also always has shoes on his feet, usually not his own.
Jack loves "dip-dip" and will pretty much eat anything dipped in ranch, ketchup, or yogurt. Unfortunately more got on his forehead than in his mouth this meal.
Shad took this photo while he was ushering on the temple grounds. Amazing!
This beautiful building has been one of our main focuses for the month of August. The Brigham City temple was announced during the 2009 October General conference. I still remember the shock that was audibly felt in the room. It hit pretty close to home for us because it will be our family's temple district. It has been so much fun seeing this temple come up from the dust. When Jack was only a month old I took the boys to see the construction of the temple. When I looked back on that blog post I can't believe how much they have grown since then. Every time we would go to Brigham City Haken would ask to drive by the temple to see the progress they have made. Although it seems like such a short time, a lot has happened in the two years since the groundbreaking.
It is an amazing building! The dedication will be on September 23rd. However, the public was able to tour the temple for 4 weeks before then. On August 13th we decided to go have a picnic for family night and then tour the temple grounds as a family before it got too crowded with the open house that week. It was such a fun night and I think Haken was the most excited out of all of us. He is so good at seeing all of the little details and pointing them out to us, like the beautiful flowers, fruit trees, and the shiny rocks cemented into the exterior walls.
The beautiful fountain in the front. 12 waterfalls come out from
the main water source. I thought that was very appropriate.
Jack loves to push
Pointing to his favorite flowers
Oh how I love these boys!
Family photo with the temple peaking in the corner.
(Can you tell Shad loves his Iphone camera?)
Picnic at the tabernacle across the street
On the 17th of August we had a very unique experience. Although the temple open house hadn't officially started, they were giving private tours to some members of the valley. Because Shad now teaches at the Box Elder seminary in Brigham they asked if the seminary teachers would like to come have a private tour with their wives. um...yeah. So we dropped the boys off with my friend (thanks!) and took Gracie with us. It was an experience that I will always remember. They took us from room to room, telling us interesting things and bearing testimony. We even got to tour a few rooms that they don't show the general public, including the bride's room. Shad said that was his favorite room because he got to hold his little daughter there who might one day be in this room getting ready for her own wedding. The church definitely spared no expense in this temple. It has attention to detail everywhere. There are peach blossoms all over (a symbol of the many peaches and other fruit that grow in the Brigham area), beautiful blue tile ceilings, large wall murals, original paintings, gorgeous chandeliers, ornate hand carved wood work...I could go on and on. I'm sure I will notice something new every time that I go there.
Following our tour Shad had the opportunity to be one of the tour guides himself for the remainder of the day. They needed extra people that day since they were accommodating many people who would be using wheelchairs. He had an amazing experience bearing testimony and spending time in the temple all day. On the 21st he was also able to volunteer as an usher. After working all day, he served on the grounds of the temple until 10:00 pm. He was so hungry he had a pizza delivered to the corner he was standing and then took the remainder to other hungry volunteers. He had two other assignments the following week but had to give them to others since he was so busy with school starting the following week.
The following Monday (August 20th) we went as a family to the open house. This time it was a silent walk through as we went from room to room. Haken was so interested in what every room was used for, so Shad made sure to stop and pull him aside so they could talk about it.
I hope that my boys felt the special spirit that was there even before it was dedicated and know that it really is a house of the Lord. So, between the tours of the temple, ushering, and me helping to sew costumes for the temple celebration that will be the night before the dedication, we have really had our focus on the temple this month. We truly feel blessed and know that we will be continually dedicated to attending the temple once it is finished. We can not wait until the dedication!
My little boy started kindergarten today. Am I really old enough to have a child in school?! He was so ready to go. I don't think I could have held him back another second. This year he has Carolyn Michaelis, who is a fabulous teacher. She has been teaching kindergarten for a LONG time. He is in the afternoon class with most of his friends in the neighborhood. Everyday he walks to school with his best friend Chloe and then home (I love living 1/4 mile from the school!) He is so smart and I know that he will do great! Here's to the next 13 years in public education!...
Isn't he talented? How many people can seriously do this?
Gracie is two months old! Wow it has gone by so fast! She has already changed so much but she is still my little girl and probably will be for quite a while.
We visited the Dr. and got a few shots. He says she looks great and likes that she is progressing on the charts even if it is only a percentage point with each visit. Here are her stats:
Weight: 9 lbs 1 oz. (9%)
Length 21 in (6%)
Head 14.7 in (14%)
She is just a little thing but I kind of like it that way as long as she is healthy. I love that I can still cradle her in my arms and it hardly feels like I am holding anything.
Here are a few things about her at 2 months:
- Smiled for the first time (for real) on the 15th of August
- Still does not like a binki- of any kind- we've tried (now we are thinking we kind of like that she doesn't take it, one less thing to bring along and have to put back in over and over)
- Found her fists and her thumb. Only sucked on the thumb a handful of times. I don't think it's a habit yet.
- She doesn't cry much and when she does you know she is tired or hungry and calms down when she gets what she wants
- Often wakes up from her naps around 35-40 minutes. She cries for a few minutes and usually goes back to sleep.
- Usually eats around every 2 1/2-3 hours although in the last month she has gone through a few growth spurts where she wanted to eat every 2 hours.
- Wakes up once in the night around 2:30-3:00 AM
- Only nurses for about 10 minutes and then she is done. This girl definitely doesn't like to suck just for fun.
- Likes sleeping on the right side of her head, it's getting a bit flat so we are trying to prop her to the other side.
- Starting to swat at toys that hang
- Making more noises. Likes to "coo" at us and looks like she is trying so hard to say something.
- Loves to watch ceiling fans. As soon as I turn one on she gets a huge smile on her face.
- Still has all of her dark hair and it is getting long on the top. We have to curl it so it's not out of control. She still has a receding hairline but the headbands cover it nicely :)
- Her eyes are starting to turn a pretty blue.
- Likes getting her hair washed in the tub and combed afterwards (natural girl)
- Still wearing most newborn clothing. Although some of the 0-3 are actually starting to fit!
Overall she is a very mellow and sweet little girl with little attitude. We'll see if that carries over to her teenage years. We all love her to pieces, especially the boys, they can't get enough of her!
Here is a little video so you can see her at 2 months:
The Friday before school started I had a baby shower in Sandy for one of my roommates from USU so we decided to make it a family affair and stop at the Hill Aerospace Museum on the way down. Every time we drive down south we pass this museum and I have always wanted to take the boys. You can see the huge planes from the freeway and I knew Haken would love it. He has been really into building planes with his legos lately. It did not disappoint. If you have never been there and have boys that like planes, you should go! It is free and has so much to look at. We didn't even get to it all. They have multiple buildings full of old planes and then a bunch of huge ones outside as well. I think Jack got a little bored, but he was also a little tired since it was nap time. Gracie just slept pretty much the whole time in the stroller. Fun family outing!
One of the huge planes outside. Fun little picnic area too.
We met while attending Utah State University in Logan, Utah and were married in August 2005. We moved to Central Illinois from Northern Utah in 2015 and we have loved the change even though we are away from our families. Shad is a religious educator for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and enjoys every day. I currently stay at home with my 7 kids and I love the sweet moments and even the chaos that sometimes comes with it. We have learned to roll with the punches with our big family. The greatest evidence of this is when we were going for "just one more" and ended up with two! That's pretty much become the story of our life.
Haken
Our intellectual 13-yr-old. He loves to be involved in every adult conversation and activity and he should be with how much responsibility he takes on in our household. He is a model student at school and has become a fantastic writer. He has a serious sweet tooth but hasn't had a single cavity. His new passion is road biking and loves to see how far and fast he can go. He has been a perfect first child. We have been spoiled with such a good young man who wants to please us in everything he does.
Jack
Exactly 3 1/2 years younger than his older brother, but you wouldn't know it by the way he plays with him. He was definitely worth waiting for, and brings so much joy into our family. In December 2013, just 3 days after his third birthday, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes but this hasn't stopped him from being the happiest kid you will ever meet. Checking his blood sugar and counting every carb before he eats hasn't slowed him down much. He recently switched to an insulin pump and it has been life changing. He has a contagious smile and rarely has a negative attitude. He is our "super Jack-Jack" and has become my little hero.
Gracie
Don't let this little girl fool you, she has more spunk in her body than most kids her size. She is our tiny little girl with loads of personality. She is a goof, just like her brothers. We have loved having a girl after two boys and she has really thrown us for a loop with her all-girl dramatic attitude. She loves everything fashion, sparkly, and pretty. At 6 yrs old she has an opinion about everything that goes on her. Her room is always spotless, there is a place for everything, and you better not mess it up. I'm sure we will be in big trouble when she grows up.
Benny
"Our little minion." He has a smile that will melt your heart and loves to cuddle. He is my master sleeper and is content doing things on his own. He loves anything on wheels and copies everything his big brother's do. He recently started preschool and has made huge strides in talking but we still often find ourselves playing "Benny Mad Libs" as a family trying to figure out what he is saying. This doesn't prevent him from getting his point across as he is a very determined child with lots of great ideas.
Ruby
Witty, smart, and sneaky. This girl rules the roost around here. She loves to sing songs and has a beautiful singing voice. She knows every word to every frozen song and belts them out. Her curly hair is a blessing and a curse as she hates having it brushed out but loves the curls. Already learning to read she is ready to start kindergarten next year and can't wait, especially since that means she will be with friends all day. She is a social butterfly and can't want to emerge from her cocoon.
Chapman and Tennyson
After trying for "just one more" we ended up with two! Having twins has its challenges, especially with 5 other kids to take care of, but we wouldn't have it any other way. It's like these two have always been here. Everyone adores them and can't remember what it was like before they came into our family. So different from eachother that they hardly seem like twins. We love these boys more than we ever thought we could.
